Martin's Blog

Hi, welcome to my Blog. It's not just MoneySaving (the rest of the site has that), it's a place to muse on life, money, media, politics & more.....

Martin's Blog
2008
03
Over £1bn worth of Wedding loans this year… not good

Over £1bn worth of Wedding loans this year… not good

Martin Lewis

3 March 2008

Debt isn’t bad, bad debt is bad. That’s one of my constant mantras. Yet I still can’t help feeling a little depressed when I read the press release from Sainsbury Financial – no doubt trying to flog its own not best buy products – see Cheapest Loans for those – which lists the horrid prospect that over £1bn will be borrowed for weddings this year.

While of course a wedding day is meant to be one of the most special in your life; it is only a day, a transitory thing. Spending money on it isn’t an investment like buying transport or expanding the house. What you spend has gone the next day leaving memories. And, as wonderful as they may be, are great memories really there because people spend a lot of cash?

My worry isn’t the amount spent: if you’ve got it and it makes you happy, then enjoy. Yet if it results in putting you and/or your family into serious debt just to get married, is that really a solid foundation to build a relationship on?

Surely a bit of understanding that you’re going to be together, hopefully forever, is more important. From memory, the statistics show that financial issues are second only to infidelity in the list of reasons that people get divorced, and borrowing heavily for a wedding doesn’t bode well in those stakes.

Is it ever right to borrow for a wedding?

As I explain in the Get Married the MoneySaving way article (which needs a little updating), if borrowing is controlled and thought through, then I’ve no problem. Yet if it’s going to cause you to be under the pressure of debt for a long time to come, it’s a real problem. The best rule of thumb is, if you can’t pay it off in under a year (which also means you can do it at 0% see best 0% purchases card), don’t do it.

Comment and Discuss